Priorities

You scroll through social media and see a post about a dog rescue desperately asking people to adopt. Another is asking people to consider fostering. Yet another is seeking donations to stay afloat.

Behind all of these posts are countless dedicated humans who spend hours, days and years of their lives saving as many animals as possible. They rely on the kindness and generosity of the general public to exist and keep going. They are inundated with requests from the public to save them all, often with very little support.

To people who work in the animal welfare field, these posts mean something different than the general public. They know that behind the cute online photos and feel-good stories there is so much heartache and sacrifice. There is endless need. And sometimes it all feels like too much. It feels like the mountain you continue to climb just gets taller and taller with no peak that can ever be reached.

It is easy to disassociate from this world when you are not directly involved in the day to day activities of animal rescues. To a certain degree, I am lucky to be able to step away from that constant worry and work. I take on the occasional foster kitten litters, but there are people who live and breathe animal rescue every single day. They are the few humans in this world who take the weight of the world on their shoulders. And pray that other people care enough to allow them to keep going.

People scrolling past the photo of the old, black cat who is still searching for a home after living at the rescue for a year, figure someone else will step up. The person scrolling past the dog rescue asking for donations assumes someone else will donate $5 while they get in line at the local Starbucks and buy a coffee for $10.

The Detroit Lions are playing a big game this weekend. It is all anyone can talk about. I count myself among the fans excitedly planning my Saturday night around this event. The news reported this football game selling tickets at the highest price ever for a non-superbowl game. Many people are scraping together money to participate. Many people have bought expensive jerseys and other fan attire to cheer on the team. Hundreds more will be spent on food and drinks, parking and hotels.

Some of these people will have a pet fall ill next week, and upon learning the cost of veterinary treatment will tell the doctor they simply can’t afford the care. Some of these people will have a local animal rescue ask for donations and tell them they can’t spare the change.

Where do we place our priorities?

How different would society look if we spent the same money and energy cheering on and supporting our local animal rescues like we do sporting events?

Dare I say we could save them all.

Enjoy the game, cheer on your favorite team, but remember the real world.